


Don't Know Where, Don't Know When

by wholeorc



Category: X-23 (Comic), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-01-26 19:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21379696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wholeorc/pseuds/wholeorc
Summary: Laura was cloned in the 50s and Logan raised her for most of her childhood. In 1993 her solitary life is interrupted when three familiar faces show up at her door.
Relationships: Bellona Kinney & Gabrielle Kinney & Laura Kinney, Bellona Kinney & Laura Kinney, Bellona Kinney & Zelda Kinney, Gabrielle Kinney & Laura Kinney, Gabrielle Kinney & Zelda Kinney, kinney sisters
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

A knock at Laura's door was extremely uncommon. 

She lived in a cabin in an undisclosed location, deep in the Canadian wilderness. A knock meant Logan checking up on her. A knock meant Daken had been starting shit again and needed to lay low. A knock, on occasion, meant the X-Men had another recruitment opportunity for her to turn down. 

There had to be at least a foot of snow outside. Laura hadn't heard a car. She hesitated until she heard a small whine. 

A child's whine. 

She stood, feeling her claws creep closer to breaking skin as she cautiously went to the door. Another knock came as her hand hovered over the doorknob, louder this time, and a voice.

"Hello?" A young girl's voice called. Laura cracked the door open. 

Three shivering children stood on her porch. Two girls the same age, around twelve, one brunette and one with a shock of white hair, and a little girl no older than five or six. The white-haired girl carried the little one on her hip, and her twin sagged against her side, clearly sick. Laura observed them warily. She recognized their faces. 

They were hers. 

"Please, we didn't know where else to go." The girl pleaded. It didn't smell like a lie. Laura was silent, simply opening the door the rest of the way to allow the children in. She didn't hesitate as much as she should have. 

The lead girl hurried in, her twin lagging slightly behind her. Laura shut the door to keep any more heat from being leeched out. 

"What's wrong with your sister?" She asked firmly. The girl looked up at her, helpless. 

"I don't know. Zelda doesn't heal like us and I don't know how to help her-" the girl's eyes began to water, her voice to shake, but she sucked in a deep breath and steeled herself. 

Laura kept her face neutral. The brunette- Zelda- was barely alive. She was the only one of the three dressed properly for the weather, still shivering violently under her parka. 

Gently, she lifted Zelda from where she leaned against her sister. She carried her to the living room, setting her on the couch by the fireplace. The other girl followed, the little one on her hip watching silently. 

Zelda slowly removed her parka, Laura quickly bundling her up in blankets to replace it. She sat on the coffee table, facing her. "Tell me your name."

"Zelda." 

"What year is it?" 

"1993."

"How old are you?"

"Twelve." 

Laura looked to her sister, who nodded minutely to confirm it. 

"Tell me how you feel, Zelda."

"Cold… hungry… my whole body hurts." She punctuated her statement with a weak cough. 

Laura stood, heading to her kitchen. "Watch your sister." She demanded of the other girl, who dutifully sat by her side. 

Laura dug through her cabinets, finding a few cans of soup she could heat up reasonably quickly. She checked the dates just to be sure before slicing them open over a pot on the stove. 

_ Snikt. _

No time for can openers. 

She felt eyes on her back, ignoring the anxious energy in the room as she cooked. Once finished, she got out bowls and spoons, pouring a serving for each girl- hell, one for herself too. She hadn't eaten dinner yet. 

Upon setting the bowls on the coffee table, the little one was the first to eat. The white-haired one ignored her food, electing to spoon-fed Zelda instead. Laura watched them, sipping a few spoonfuls of soup. 

"What are your names?" She asked eventually. 

"Bellona." The white-haired girl answered without stopping her quest to feed Zelda. "And that's Gabby." She jerked her head toward the little one.

Laura nodded, continuing to observe them and let them be for now. They were shaken, afraid. The scarring on their faces was obviously intentional. Labeling experiments to keep from mixing them up. Laura's stomach turned. They were so  _ young _ . Had she ever been that young? Probably, but she couldn't remember. 

"Were you followed?" It was a question she had to ask. The others could come later, when they weren't so jumpy, but this one was urgent. 

"No." 

Laura's eyes snapped to the right. She had directed the question to Bellona, but it was Gabby who answered. The first words she'd spoken the whole time. Laura looked to Bellona for confirmation, receiving a nod. 

She sighed, finishing her soup and setting aside her bowl.

The girls' clothes were threadbare. She trudged to her room, picking out pajamas for them to wear. Gabby ended up in a t-shirt that was functionally a nightgown on her, the other two in mismatched pajama sets with legs that dragged across the floor. Good enough. 

"We're taking Zelda to a hospital in the morning."

Bellona turned her head to Laura, her demeanor becoming downright vicious. "No."

Laura crossed her arms. "You said she has no healing factor. She needs more help than we can give." She softened a bit. "They won't hurt her. Most people can't tell that I'm- that we're mutants just by looking." 

Bellona huffed, her suspicion remaining. "Fine. But she's not leaving my sight."

"Of course." 

The sleeping arrangements that night were simple enough. Zelda was carefully transferred to the guest bedroom, her door kept wide open in case of emergency. Bellona took the couch, seemingly so she could keep watch of the cabin. That left Gabby, who ended up sharing Laura’s bed. Laura’s bedroom door was also kept cracked open that night, in case anyone needed her. 

She lifted Gabby into her bed, who quickly cuddled up to her with far too much trust for what she was. Laura elected not to correct her, curling around the child and tucking her covers around them. 

“We’re your sisters.” A soft voice muffled from under the covers. Laura flipped them down so Gabby could peep out at her.

“I know.” 

“Do you know our mom and dad?” 

“Yes. Our dad is named Logan.” The corner of Laura’s mouth twitched slightly. “He’s pretty grumpy, but he loves me and our big brother. I’m sure he’ll love you, too.”

“We have a brother?” Laura couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at the look of wonder on Gabby’s face.

“His name is Daken. He doesn’t like our dad so much, but he likes me. And he’ll definitely like you.”

“What about our mom?” 

“Our mom is… gone. Her name was Sarah.” She brushed Gabby’s hair from her face, watching for how she would process the news. If she felt a certain way, it wasn’t immediately visible on her face.

“She died.” 

“Yes, she died.” 

Gabby nuzzled against Laura, perhaps to mourn briefly for the mother she would never meet. Laura wasn’t sure. She simply ran her fingers through her hair, hoping it soothed her. 

“Is Zelda going to die?”

That would be hard to answer. Should she be honest? Laura wasn’t sure what this girl had been through, what she could take. Sugar-coating could make it worse. In her silence, Gabby seemed to draw her own conclusion. “She is going to die.” She murmured thoughtfully, and Laura could only hold the kid close to her. 

“She might not.” 

Gabby ignored her. “Lots of my sisters have died.”

Laura felt her heart drop. There were more. More who had died before these three could get here. Little sisters she couldn’t protect, couldn’t comfort. She swallowed the lump in her throat, willing her eyes to stop stinging. “I’m sorry.” Gabby murmured softly. Laura shook her head, curling tighter around her. 

“No, no, don’t be. It’s not your fault, pumpkin.” She kissed the crown of her head, feeling her burrow closer and bury her head against her chest. Laura breathed deep, slowing her breath, her heart, calming her mind. Gabby sensed it, and Laura felt her relax in her arms. She’d have to be careful about getting worked up around these kids- it was contagious.

\---

Morning came sooner than anyone would have liked, and Laura was surprised at how little she had to motivate the girls to get moving. She bundled them all up, distributing flannels and parkas among them. Trudging out, Laura shoveled the driveway for once and heated up her truck before everyone piled in.The drive to the hospital was long, and Laura had warned the girls as such. She drove as carefully as she could so not to make poor Zelda any more miserable than she already was. She eyed Gabby in her rearview more than once. She was pretty sure kids her age needed a carseat, and it bothered her even though it wouldn’t make much of a difference for a little girl with a healing factor.

As soon as they parked in the hospital lot, they got to work. Laura lifted Zelda up on piggyback and Bellona carried Gabby behind her. The urgency registered as soon as they walked in, and with a little intimidation on Laura’s part, Zelda was checked in and had a room within minutes. 

Laura didn’t let herself feel relieved yet, though. 

Bellona quickly passed Gabby off to Laura- too trusting, Laura thought again- determined to be as vigilant over Zelda as possible. She eyed the nurses as they did tests and hooked Zelda up to an IV, glued to Zelda's side whenever she could be. 

Laura had watched plenty of people die. In most cases, she'd been responsible for the death in some way. It had never happened as slowly as this. It was strange to see someone die completely beyond her control. Laura felt herself stricken with grief for this little girl, who she'd only met last night. For the little girls before her she'd never met. She sat beside Zelda, loosely holding her hand. Gabby demanded to be placed in Zelda's hospital bed with her despite everyone's warnings. She snuggled up to her, head tucked into the crook of her neck. Bellona was coping the worst, standing by her side with a brave face that was dangerously close to breaking at any moment. 

They all knew there was nothing more to be done. Zelda would be gone in minutes. 

Laura, in a moment of sisterly instinct she didn't know she had, began to softly hum a lullaby. She couldn't remember the words, not that she would be able to sing them without choking up, but she remembered the tune. Something that Logan would sing to her when he'd just taken her in. She'd wake screaming with night terrors, her sheets sliced to ribbons, and Logan would always come in calmly, taking her wild, panicked slashing like it was nothing and singing until she was soothed back to sleep. 

Laura kept up the soft hum, feeling Zelda's hold on her hand gradually weaken until she was gone. She continued to hum as she gathered her two mourning sisters in her arms and let them sob against her chest. She hummed through her own sobs, the nurses gently herding them away from Zelda's body. 

Hypothermia. 

Of all the deaths in her family, Zelda's seemed the least fitting. 

Daken's mother had been assassinated. 

Laura had been forced to murder her own mother. 

Logan had accidentally killed his own father when his mutation manifested. His step-father killed his brother for being a mutant. 

Murder, murder, murder. 

Hypothermia just seemed so wrong. Something so trivial, so preventable, had killed Zelda. No drama. No weapons, no espionage, nothing to avenge. Zelda hadn't gone violently. Laura tried to take comfort in it, but for some reason it only disturbed her more. 

She sucked in a deep breath, still holding her sisters close as she composed herself. Zelda's body was not staying here. She stopped a nurse passing by, telling him they would be taking Zelda home for a funeral. After some stammered protests that he was unsure and asking his doctor, Laura was able to make arrangements to move Zelda's body to her car. Any talks of a death certificate were gracefully dodged, as Laura was sure these girls, like her, didn't legally exist. 

Zelda sat in the front this time, bundled back up in her borrowed winter clothes. The drive home was silent save for sniffles from the back seat. Laura carefully carried Zelda into the house, Bellona carrying Gabby in behind her. 

"What do we do now?" Bellona's voice was watery, small. The most childlike she'd sounded since she arrived at Laura's doorstep. 

"We hold a funeral." Laura answered as kindly as she could. She laid Zelda back in bed, her eyes lingering on her for a moment before she headed to the freezer. She grabbed bags of ice, running through body handling procedures in her head. 

"What can we do?" Bellona's voice was startlingly right behind her. Laura whirled around to see two sets of her own eyes staring up at her helplessly, desperately. 

What did funerals have? Candles. She had several in case of a power outage. "I have some candles in the hall closet." She nodded toward it, bundling the bags of ice in her arms. The girls nodded dutifully and went to search for them. Laura used their distraction to pack the ice together under the sheet beneath Zelda. The girls came in just as she finished, arms full of candles. She helped them arrange them around the bedside tables. 

"What would she have liked?" She asked gently. The girls looked at each other. Their constant teariness had made their faces ruddy.

Laura learned a lot about Zelda from this question.

They washed the clothes she'd arrived in and changed her into them, save for the parka. Laura felt a small smile tug at her mouth as she dressed Zelda in what had apparently been her favorite sweatshirt- a Nirvana one. She wished she could've gotten to know her. 

Bellona carefully braided Zelda's hair, arranging it to drape over her shoulders meticulously. Gabby took a barrette from her own hair for Bellona to put in Zelda's. 

"Could our dad come? And our big brother?" She asked softly, causing her older sisters to look up at her in surprise.

"We have a brother?" Bellona asked, and Gabby nodded matter-of-factly.

"I'll… call them." Laura said after a moment of hesitation. They'd want to know about all this anyway, even if it wasn't necessarily their business. And she would have had to draw attention to it eventually- the ground was too hard to bury Zelda, and she needed to be cared for discreetly, so Laura had been mentally preparing herself to call Charles for help. 

She stood, dutifully going to call the rest of their family for a home funeral. 

As strange as the situation was, the boys accepted it pretty quickly. They agreed to come and to play nice with each other, but they both wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. 

Bellona crawled into bed with Laura and Gabby that night, hiccupping and sniffling softly. Laura wrapped her into their blanket cocoon, humming her to sleep. She suddenly remembered the words that had been escaping her, but elected not to sing them. The tune was pretty enough.

_ We'll meet again _

_ Don't know where _

_ Don't know when _

_ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day _

_ Keep smiling through _

_ Just like you always do _

_ 'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away _

_ So will you please say hello _

_ To the folks that I know _

_ Tell them I won't be long _

_ They'll be happy to know _

_ That as you saw me go _

_ I was singing this song _

_ We'll meet again _

_ Don't know where _

_ Don't know when _

_ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day _

_ We'll meet again _

_ Don't know where _

_ Don't know when _

_ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day _

_ Keep smiling through _

_ Just like you always do _

_ 'Til the blue skies _

_ Drive the dark clouds far away _

_ So will you please say hello _

_ To the folks that I know _

_ Tell them it won't be long _

_ They'll be happy to know _

_ That as you saw me go _

_ I was singin' this song _

_ We'll meet again _

_ Don't know where _

_ Don't know when _

_ But I know we'll meet again some sunny day _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanna be sad while in quarantine? Here u go! Wash ur hands don't touch ur face practice social distancing be safe and read this sad, sad fic

Morning came again, Laura wheezing out a gruff groan as she found herself firmly held in place by her two sleeping sisters. She escaped their grips as gracefully as she could, not wanting them to wake just yet, but their shared heightened senses thwarted her. Gabby sat up groggily, and Laura felt thrashing from the other side of the bed.

She yelped as she felt a gnarled claw sink between two of her ribs, looking to her right to see a horrified Bellona, clearly awoken from a nightmare. 

"I'm so- Laura, I didn't mean-"

She hushed her, trying not to visibly grimace. "I know." She rasped. "I used to cut dad up pretty bad when I had a nightmare."

Her little sister seemed slightly relieved by that, her shoulders slumping. 

"Still need you to take your claw out of my side." 

"Oh! Sorry!" She jerked her arm back, widening the wound in her hurry. Laura bit her tongue to suppress another yelp of pain, seeing panic return to Bellona's face as she held a hand over her side to suppress bleeding. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" 

"Don't worry about it." Laura grunted. "It'll heal quick. Just help me clean up the blood later." 

Bellona looked at the bloodied sheets, guilt only intensifying on her face. 

"I used to slice sheets up when I was your age, dont worry about it." She lifted her hand to check the stab wound. Gone. "Already healed, see?" She brushed some of Bellona's messy hair from her face, her heart aching slightly when she passed over one of the raised scars on her forehead. 

That seemed to comfort her enough. 

"I'll start us some breakfast. Take your time." Laura kissed both of their foreheads before climbing out of bed, trudging to the kitchen to find something to feed these kids. 

The cabinets were not yielding much. Instant noodles, peanut butter, and canned beans didn't exactly sound like an appetizing breakfast for a kid. They'd eaten soup last night- would they eat it again? 

A familiar pattern of knocks distracted Laura from her quest. Daken's code. Of course he had to get here first thing in the morning. She checked the clock. 5 AM. The sun wasn't even up yet. She groaned. He could've at least given them time to get ready. 

She opened the door to find Daken with his arms full of shopping bags, breezing past his bewildered sister with a pretty pleasant expression for someone who just crossed the country for a funeral. 

"What's this?"

"Hello to you, too."

Laura growled, shutting the door and following Daken to where he'd made himself quite comfortable in the living room. 

"Hi. What is this?"

Daken set his bags on the coffee table, rifling around. "Well, you and dad never have non-apocalyptic food, so I got you groceries." He finished up taking off his boots, draping his hat and coat over the armchair before getting up with his bags and heading to the kitchen. Laura followed, eyeing him as he started putting away groceries. 

Mostly basics. Eggs, milk, bread, rice, noodles, flour, a few pounds of bacon, produce, some junk food. She eyed the bulk package of sour candies he heaved into her cabinet with some suspicion. 

"What? You said they're kids. Can they not have candy?" 

"I'm just not sure it's appropriate for the occasion." 

Daken rolled his eyes, starting to say something before pausing. He looked toward the kitchen doorway, Laura looking as well. Gabby and Bellona had managed to sneak up on them while they were bickering, both looking up at Daken with wide-eyed curiosity. He offered the least awkward smile he could muster, clearly hoping his stature and appearance wouldn't scare the kids. 

"Hey, girls. I'm your brother, Daken. Want some breakfast?" 

They nodded mutely, looking, Laura was relieved to see, mystified rather than suspicious of their brother. 

"Have you ever had pancakes?"

They shook their heads. 

Daken smiled, taking a bottle of maple syrup from the grocery bags. "I'll make some for you." 

Laura got out of Daken's way so he could cook. Her kitchen was tiny, and she and her brother certainly weren't petite. 

She elected instead to help boost the girls up to sit at the kitchen counter, the two of them quietly observing Daken as he rifled through Laura's kitchen drawers for a pan. 

"I got the girls some stuff, too." He nodded toward the remaining bags in the living room. Laura furrowed her brows, digging into them to find a few stuffed animals, crayons, coloring books and-

"You got them a Game Boy?" 

"Yeah! And a copy of Tetris!" 

Laura wasn't really sure how to respond. She remembered Daken spoiling her when they were younger, but it was mostly with little baubles he'd shoplifted as a teenager. There were receipts in these bags. 

She sighed, just taking the coloring books and crayons to the girls for now so they could entertain themselves while Daken cooked. 

She intended to pull Daken aside after breakfast and ask him what the fuck his deal was, why was he being so chipper, but as soon as he finished the huge batch of pancakes and the girls were eating, he started on lunch for everyone. Something was off. 

Laura softened her approach then, squeezing back into the kitchen and watching him meal prep. 

"What's for lunch?" She asked softly. It was just barely 6 now. She was pretty sure whatever it was wouldn't take 6 hours. 

"Pork katsu and miso soup." Daken murmured distractedly, trying to fit all the ingredients he needed on the tiny counter. 

"Where'd you learn to make that?"

Daken was quiet for a long moment. "Natsumi." He finally murmured, busying himself whisking eggs to avoid eye contact with Laura. 

"Oh, Akkun…" 

Daken's knuckles turned white as he whisked. The childhood nickname had struck a nerve. "Don't. Call me that." He stopped whisking entirely.

"Quit ignoring your feelings."

"I'm not! I have to be useful, okay? What would you prefer? You want me to be angry? I can't! For the first time I can't be angry about losing someone! There's nobody to blame!" 

The kitchen was swept over with silence, Daken glaring tearily down at Laura.

"Do you want to see her?" Gabby asked softly, drawing their attention away from each other. 

Daken hesitated for a moment. Laura cautiously took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Yes." He finally said, letting out a deep breath. 

Bellona hopped down from the kitchen stool, helping Gabby down after her. Laura led them to the room Zelda was being kept in, feeling Daken's grip on her hand tighten as she opened the door. 

Zelda's body laid, motionless, the same way the girls had arranged her the night before. Gabby weaved around everyone's legs, climbing up on the bed and tucking one of the little plushies Daken had gotten them safely into Zelda's arms. A little brown cat. 

"She liked cats." Gabby informed them, climbing back down to join her siblings. 

Daken seemed frozen, almost afraid to approach. He gradually let go of Laura's hand, walking up to get a good look at Zelda. He paled, covering his mouth. 

"Laura," he whispered. "Laura, that's you."

"That's our sister, Zelda." Laura corrected gently. "We just share a face."

Daken covered his eyes, overwhelmed by the sight. "I know." His voice was shaking. "But that's all I know about her."

"No, I just told you she liked cats." Gabby corrected. 

"And Nirvana. She liked Nirvana." Bellona added. Laura watched as the girls approached Daken, standing on either side of him. Gabby was the first to take his hand, Bellona taking the other. 

They stood like that for a long moment, Daken staring almost in disbelief at the little Laura in front of him, unbreathing. It felt like a dream. He gradually knelt, wrapping an arm around either sister beside him and pulling them in for a crushing hug. They hugged back with equal strength, lingering for a long time before finally separating. Another knock on the door broke the silence. Daken and Laura looked solemnly at each other.    
“Dad.”


End file.
